Hilary Benn

The Government has increased funding for the performing arts.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport principally supports the arts through funding for Arts Council England, which makes individual decisions about which organisations and projects to fund at arm’s length from Ministers. At the Spending Review in 2021, the Government provided increased funding for Arts Council England. Arts Council England’s indicative financial settlement for 2022–5 includes an uplift of £43.5 million, or 2 per cent. As a result of this, and money from the National Lottery, Arts Council England will be spending more each year (by around £30 million) through its new Investment Programme (2023–6) than in the previous round (2018–23). It is investing in a record number of organisations, in more parts of the country than ever before.

This is in addition to the direct funding programmes through which the Department invests in arts and culture such as the Cultural Investment Fund and cross-Government funds such as the Towns Fund and the Levelling Up Fund which have benefited arts and cultural organisations across the country, as well as the more than £1.5 billion of support the Government made available to around 5,000 organisations and sites during the pandemic through the Culture Recovery Fund.

At the Budget last month, we extended the higher rates of Theatre Tax Relief, Orchestras Tax Relief, and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief until 2025 – changes that are estimated to be worth £350 million over five years.

The Department is proud to work with a range of organisations representing the performing arts, and to receive representations about funding and other issues which can help them thrive. Arts and culture make a huge contribution to this country, not only to our economy and international reputation, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people and communities.

The Government is clear that we want people who are transgender to be able to live their lives as they wish. As announced in September 2020, we believe the current provisions in the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) are effective and allow for those who wish to legally change their sex to do so. The process of applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) should, however, be modern and affordable. The newly developed digital application process for GRCs launched on 29 June last year.

The digital application page on gov.uk sets out the list of uses of a GRC which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/apply-gender-recognition-certificate

The Government Equalities Office ran a consultation on the future of conversion rights in England and Wales in 2019.

We continue to analyse the public responses to the consultation, and intend to publish the government’s response and bring forward any necessary legislation as soon as possible.

All updates on the outcome of this consultation, including on the ability for opposite-sex couples to convert their civil partnership to marriage, will be made available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/civil-partnerships-next-steps-and-consultation-on-conversion in due course.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) continue to play a significant role in bringing fraudsters to justice. In 2021/2022, the CPS prosecuted 7,200 defendants, where Fraud and Forgery was the principal offence and the conviction rate was 84.1%.

In 2022-23 the SFO have successfully prosecuted three fraud cases resulting in four criminals being sentenced to a total of 48 years in prison; and also secured the largest ever corporate confiscation order in the UK against Glencore Energy (UK) Ltd, at £93m.

The CPS recognises the vital work undertaken by civil society to provide humanitarian relief and to promote peacebuilding efforts overseas and that this can take place within a backdrop of instability and fluid governance arrangements, including heavily sanctioned countries or in countries/regions where proscribed terrorist groups are active.

While there are no plans to issue guidance covering these specific circumstances, the CPS intends to publish general prosecutorial guidance in 2022 on the interaction between counter terrorism legislation and the work of aid agencies operating overseas that provide humanitarian relief or promote peacebuilding efforts. A draft of the guidance has been prepared and the CPS is currently engaging in wider consultation with HMG colleagues prior to publication.

The Windsor Framework delivers significant benefits for operators who move groupage consignments and mixed loads, including the removal of burdensome paperwork and a reduction in checks.

The green and red lanes under customs arrangements are entirely virtual lanes with separate underlying electronic processes. Green and red lane goods can therefore be moved in the same vehicle without requiring physical segregation, meaning hauliers will not have to alter their logistical arrangements

Mixed loads containing agri-food goods moving through the red and green lane will also be permitted. Whilst the lorry as a whole would not benefit from the full facilitations of the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme, the subsection of goods moving under the scheme will still benefit from the advantages it offers, including removing the need for veterinary signed certificates for individual products. Guidance for traders on how these movements will operate is available on Gov.uk.

It will be a commercial decision for traders and hauliers as to how they move goods. This will be no different in principle to how hauliers make decisions on whether to operate groupage loads at present.

The requested information is not centrally held by the Cabinet Office.

This government is making the most of our new found freedom to reform, repeal and replace outdated retained EU law that does not serve the interests of the UK. We are creating a regulatory environment which will promote growth, innovation and prosperity, cutting at least £1 billion of red tape for businesses, while maintaining the high standards the British people rightly expect.

Cabinet Office is leading and coordinating the programme of work being undertaken by Secretaries of State across government, to identify and deliver the regulatory and economic opportunities that Brexit has provided. No staff within the Brexit Opportunities Unit in the Cabinet Office monitor how the EU chooses to diverge from the UK.

The Government monitors significant EU policy developments that are likely to affect UK interests, to ensure compliance with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and support business readiness as necessary. My officials and I undertake regular engagement with the Devolved Administrations on the opportunities arising from leaving the EU, using Common Frameworks and other existing intergovernmental structures.

This government is making the most of our new found freedom to reform, repeal and replace outdated retained EU law that does not serve the interests of the UK. We are creating a regulatory environment which will promote growth, innovation and prosperity, cutting at least £1 billion of red tape for businesses, while maintaining the high standards the British people rightly expect.

Cabinet Office is leading and coordinating the programme of work being undertaken by Secretaries of State across government, to identify and deliver the regulatory and economic opportunities that Brexit has provided. No staff within the Brexit Opportunities Unit in the Cabinet Office monitor how the EU chooses to diverge from the UK.

The Government monitors significant EU policy developments that are likely to affect UK interests, to ensure compliance with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and support business readiness as necessary. My officials and I undertake regular engagement with the Devolved Administrations on the opportunities arising from leaving the EU, using Common Frameworks and other existing intergovernmental structures.

This government is making the most of our new found freedom to reform, repeal and replace outdated retained EU law that does not serve the interests of the UK. We are creating a regulatory environment which will promote growth, innovation and prosperity, cutting at least £1 billion of red tape for businesses, while maintaining the high standards the British people rightly expect.

Cabinet Office is leading and coordinating the programme of work being undertaken by Secretaries of State across government, to identify and deliver the regulatory and economic opportunities that Brexit has provided. No staff within the Brexit Opportunities Unit in the Cabinet Office monitor how the EU chooses to diverge from the UK.

The Government monitors significant EU policy developments that are likely to affect UK interests, to ensure compliance with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and support business readiness as necessary. My officials and I undertake regular engagement with the Devolved Administrations on the opportunities arising from leaving the EU, using Common Frameworks and other existing intergovernmental structures.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is a delegated scheme; as such, interest rates will depend on the specific loan agreements between a borrower and their lender.

The scheme provides the lender with a government-backed, partial guarantee (80%) against the outstanding balance. The Government does not benefit from interest repayments on loans through the CBILS scheme.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is a delegated scheme; as such, interest rates will depend on the specific loan agreements between a borrower and their lender.

The scheme provides the lender with a government-backed, partial guarantee (80%) against the outstanding balance. The Government does not benefit from interest repayments on loans through the CBILS scheme.

The Department for Business and Trade has not made an estimate of the number of charities that took out loans through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and so does not have an estimate on the proportion of charities which have an outstanding balance on their loan.

The Department for Business and Trade has not made an estimate of the number of businesses that took out loans through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) that have since ceased trading. This will be considered as part of the scheme's ongoing evaluation, which will consider the impact of CBILS on business survival.

The government introduced in Parliament the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill on 25 April which includes a delegated power to amend a list of automatically unfair practices set out in the Bill.

Government plans to address fake and misleading reviews by adding these practices to that list of banned practices, following consultation this year. This will give greater clarity to business and consumers and, where fake reviews or misleading reviews are posted, allow enforcers to take effective action quickly.

The threatening communications offence in the Online Safety Bill, will capture communications which convey a serious threat of harm to a likely audience.

This includes communications such as a threat to life, rape, or serious injury; or causing serious financial harm.

The Government set out an aspiration in the Clean Growth Strategy for as many homes as possible to reach an Energy Performance Rating Band C by 2035 where cost-effective, affordable and practical. Achieving this will require mobilising up to £65 billion of capital investment.

The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings. In addition, £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.

According to Ofgem guidance, suppliers should review credit balances every six months to avoid an excessive build-up of credit. Ofgem have conducted a series of Market Compliance Reviews, including on direct debit processes and performance, and has identified areas where suppliers need to improve.

Customers can ask their supplier to refund a credit balance at any time. Suppliers must do so promptly unless they have reasonable grounds not to.

The Government supports appropriate regulation of intellectual property practitioners where this is necessary to ensure that applicants and rights holders are effectively represented.

We have not seen a need to change the current regulatory framework. The Government continues to welcome evidence from practitioners and consumers if they consider there to be deficiencies in the current system.

In private rented accommodation, landlords are required to reflect in the price they charge for energy, the actual costs and any Government support they receive through the Energy Bills Support Scheme and Energy Price Guarantee. This includes, where landlords charge based on usage, making a reasonable estimate of the appropriate unit rate to charge.

Where students live in commercially provided accommodation supplied by a non-domestic contract such as a hall of residence, they may benefit from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme depending on when the commercial provider signed their energy contract. If so, the commercial provider is required to pass on the savings to their student tenants.

The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide support of £400 for energy bills for around 900,000 households without a domestic electricity supply. Those that are eligible will need to submit a short online form via the Government’s GOV.UK pages, with the application portal due to open in January.

BEIS records this information in Chapter 6 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes.

Table 6.2 shows that installed UK wind capacity was 25.8GW for 2021, generating 64.7TWh of electricity. The theoretical total generating capacity of these turbines is 226TWh of electricity, though this would imply they were generating 100% of the time. Actual output is heavily influenced by weather conditions. Table 6.3 shows that wind operated at 29% of potential maximum in 2021. Typically, we would expect this percentage to increase over time with newer, more efficient deployment

The Government is supporting the most vulnerable UK households with £1,200 of support provided in instalments over this year.

The Treasury-led review of the energy support schemes will consider how to support households with energy bills after April 2023. The objective of the review is to design a new approach that ensures enough support for those in need, that will also cost the taxpayer significantly less than planned.